Cultural studies & social thought in education

Department of Teaching & Learning

Please note: This program only accepts applications for fall term.

The Cultural Studies and Social Thought Ph.D. option in the College of Education is a rigorous, flexible and individually tailored course of study that focuses on the problems of culture and power in the contemporary and historical contexts of education. We view cultural studies and social thought as intellectual terrain through which a variety of educational areas, issues and concerns can be explored.

A number of faculty in the College of Education maintain research agendas and intellectual interests in areas of popular culture and media, social justice, environment, ethics, aesthetics, race, ethnicity, gender and social class which are applied to a range of educational sub-fields and content areas that include literacy, educational leadership, teacher leadership, school reform, curriculum theory, higher education, science, art, special education, and bilingual/ESL. This is not an exhaustive list but it provides a view of the extensive terrain covered by the Cultural Studies and Social Thought Ph.D. and the broad expertise represented by our faculty.

Program goals

The faculty's goal is to articulate a cohesive and supportive community of educational scholarship and practice. While coursework is important, we work to establish a strong program of mentorship in which doctoral candidates are mentored into the world of research, knowledge generation and dissemination, and pedagogical and social action.

Students work with their advisor to plan for a course of study that is coherent with the overall aims and goals that define Cultural Studies and that is relevant to the student’s needs and interests. We place high value on the mentoring relationship, and we work to include students in research projects, conference presentations, and teaching experiences, and reading groups. We are committed to the idea that our scholarly endeavors stimulate positive change in schools and the communities and society those schools serve.

"I can't say enough about the Cultural Studies and Social Thought program," says joan.O'sa Oviawe, an internationally known social activist from Nigeria who earned her doctorate from WSU.